If you have multiple children (not only just “multiples”!), you’ll understand it when I say that every outing is a game of strategy. Timing things, figuring out how you’ll get in and out of places with more than one child and only one adult… it can be quite a game!
I have always been one to get out of the house with the girls - I definitely don’t let the fact that I have toddler twins keep me in the house. Yes, it takes a while to get out the door. Yes, it takes a while to get in and out of a store. And yes, it takes more time to get back inside. However, you have to roll with the punches, right?
Having two at the same age is always going to be a bit challenging, I’m sure. Having two children that are different ages I’m sure is equally as challenging! Two children that are liable to run away from you at any time in opposite directions can be quite an unnerving feeling which is why I’m sure some mamas don’t even try to tackle getting out of the house very often with toddler twins.
Most weekends the girls and I go out and run errands, especially to go grocery shopping. I have it down to a science, so I thought I would share the nitty gritty logistics with you!
Getting into the store
This is always an unknown depending on the store that we go to.
More often than not I try to park as closely to the shopping cart corral as possible. If a single (meaning only one place to sit for the girls) shopping cart is available, I’ll quickly run to the corral and back (locking the car behind me), and pull it up to the side of my car. From there, I take one girls out of her seat and put her in the cart, and then I carry the other one in with me.
If a cart is not outside (which sometimes they have just been collected or the store has just opened), I always grab Emerson first out of her seat. The reason why I always grab her first is because if I put her on the ground to stand near my legs (using them as a barricade to block her in), she doesn’t try to go anywhere. She’s happy as a clam to stand there and wait for 20-30 seconds while I grab her sister. Brooklyn bolts, so I can’t grab her first. Then, I either grab them both and carry them in together, or I let Emerson walk and hold my hand. Brooklyn refuses to hold our hands when she walks, so she isn’t allowed to walk. Safety is my #1 priority, obviously. 😉
Shop ‘Til We Drop
Of course, the easiest option is when I go somewhere that has two seats in their shopping carts. My favorite stores are always the ones that ALL of the carts are larger carts. We love going to Costco, Berkot’s (a local grocery store), and Aldi - all of which have strollers that have two seats up front.
If a store only has a few double seated shopping carts, it’s likely that I won’t get one - and that’s okay! Plan B!
Once I get into the store and realize there are only carts available with one seat, I do one of the following:
1. Carry one and place one in the seat (this only works if I only need a few things and it will be a short trip).
2. Place one baby in the cart (again, this only works if I only need a few things… and then I play the game of “you better sit down right now!”)
3. Take two carts and push one/pull the other (this works really well in stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods - they have smaller carts. If I have to resort to this, it’s easier if the stores aren’t busy).
4. Turn around and get the Ergo out of the car
Of course, there’s always the option of just using the stroller and placing items under the stroller in the cargo bin, or carrying around a basket.
Getting back to the car
Getting back to the car is the easiest part of it all - mainly because all of the “unknowns” of the shopping trip have been taken care of. If I have two carts, I ditch one cart at the door, and hold one baby while the other one sits in the shopping cart. The girls go in the car first, I load up the groceries, and then the car gets locked while I take the cart back to the (relatively close) cart corral.
Lugging it in
When we get home, there’s no way that I take the girls out of the car first. We have a detached garage, so i can only imagine the trouble the girls would get in if I brought them in first! The groceries get tossed inside in the least amount of trips as possible, and then the girls are brought in. They are both into walking up the walkway themselves these days, so that’s always an ordeal as well. You should have seen the tantrum Brooklyn pulled the other day when I carried her up the steps instead of letting Miss Independent climb them herself. 😉
So there you have it - a round trip shopping excursion. Now if only the logistics don’t ever change - which I’m sure they will! Every six months or so, a new stage appears which throws me off my game!
Question: Mamas, what is one errand/experience you never realized would become so complex before you had kids? Other than this, I would say parties/get togethers - holy cow! I never realized before we had kids just how much goes into going out for a family party for the day. The stuff you have to bring, the NOT relaxing day it becomes, the running around - yikes! 
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